State Briefs

Published: October 4, 2012 3:00 AM

LORDSTOWN -- The Ohio-built Chevrolet Cruze was the top-selling small car in the United States for the month of September.

General Motors says it sold 25,787 Cruzes last month. They're built in GM's Lordstown plant near Youngstown.

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The Cruze's nearest competitor in the sector was the Toyota Corolla, with 23,036 sold last month.

Sales of the Cruze dropped by 188 from the sales record set in August. Still, GM says last month was its best overall September since 2008.

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reports that Cruze numbers last month were helped by profit-free sales to rental car fleets.

Rod labeled 'Kaboom' prompts

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evacuation of Akron City Hall

AKRON -- Officials say the evacuation of a northeast Ohio city hall was prompted by concerns about a metal rod labeled with its owner's last name, Kaboom.

Police say someone reported a suspicious pipe near council chambers at Akron City Hall, spurring the brief evacuation Wednesday morning. The Akron Beacon Journal reports the item had tape on it, and the writing on it was perceived as a threat.

Officers determined that Kaboom was the name of a man who often attends city council meetings and that he uses the rod as his walking stick. He'd apparently left it behind.

Several dozen workers had been evacuated while a police dog searched the building during the scare.

Ohio man survives when car

plunges into Cuyahoga River

AKRON -- A northeastern Ohio man says he was able to walk away after his car drove off a bridge and plunged into the Cuyahoga River.

It happened early Tuesday when 50-year-old Robert Bugge said he swerved to avoid a deer and drove off a bridge in Akron. His car slipped through a gap between the east and west bridge lanes and skidded down an embankment into the water.

Bugge says the car landed on its top, temporarily trapping him inside and underwater. He managed to free himself and, nursing cuts and bruises, continued home on foot.

The Akron Beacon Journal reports that Bugge didn't report the crash then. Someone who saw the car in the water called police, and officers went looking for him. He then returned to the scene.